The Rise

The Rise explains the integral role of failure in all creative endeavors and provides examples of great thinkers who thrived because they viewed failure as a necessary part of their journey towards mastery.

One person whose advice you’ll definitely won’t want to take while failing your way to success is Homer Simpson: “You’ve tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is: never try.” Endurance, consistency, and persistence are requisites for mastery. At the same time, it’s important that innovators and artists not get tied up in perfectionism while pursuing a goal.

When the author spent a day with the women’s archery team from Columbia University, she learned such focus requires sustained mindfulness and intensity. The Archer’s Paradox refers to the fact that although the archer cannot control the weather, she has to factor in those elements before releasing the arrow. She must be willing to try again and again, whatever the environment dictates.

Mastery comes to those who are willing to shoot countless times while remembering all they can do is observe and give their best.

Author Lewis Hyde said:

The Gap refers to the space between what you’ve achieved and your potential to achieve more. While in the Gap, it makes sense to separate yourself from your critics so that you feel safe taking risks.

The playwright August Wilson wrote on napkins in restaurants. When a waitress asked him why he wrote on those instead of paper, he replied: “Because it doesn’t count.” Writing on something easily discardable gave Wilson the freedom to explore and crumple the napkin without judging himself.

However, isolation must eventually come to an end. Otherwise, you’ll lose touch with reality. Florentine painter Pontormo spent eleven years working on a portrait in the sixteenth century. Neither the painter nor portrait survived such solitary focus.

Criticism and pressure eventually play a crucial role in the growth of a creator and their projects. Leonard Bernstein advised, “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” In the beginning stages, however, too much heat will burn out the artist.

Whatever creative work you do, managing the Gap between your actual work and your vision of what could be is hard enough. So first make sure you are satisfied with your work, and then let the chips fall where they may.

The director of Iowa University’s world-famous writing program has noted that the writers most likely to achieve success are not those with the most natural talent. It is the individual who sits down at the keyboard day in and day out. When one article, short story, or novel is complete, the pro writer begins the next project. They might glance back,…